Disadvantages of using coal to produce electricity:

Coal energy produces large amount of carbon dioxide which leads to global warming and climate change The burning of coal is not environmental friendly because it produces harmful byproducts and gas emissions such as sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide that causes pollution to the environment including acid rain

Coal energy is nonrenewable energy source Coal is fast depleting because we consume too much of it Coal mining ruins the environment and puts the lives of people specially the coal miners in danger We cannot deny the fact that using coal energy is very important to us. All of us want an affordable and reliable energy source which we can only get by using coal energy. Although using coal energy is very significant for us and living without it would become impossible, we should always open our minds to the damage the continuous use of coal energy will eventually bring to us and to our environment. For latest news on coal production, visit Coal Production for Chinas Rising Energy Demand.

Coal energy is a nonrenewable energy which means that this is a type of energy that we cannot recreate. The supply of coal energy is limited and therefore if we continue to consume too much of this, we will eventually run out of this kind of energy. Coal energy is used for the creation of electricity to power industrial or manufacturing plants and even to power our appliances at home. Many industrial plants or manufacturing plants use coal energy to generate electricity because coal energy is an affordable source of energy. Moreover, coal is very abundant even if it is non-renewable because it has the largest reserve around the world. There are many advantages and disadvantages of using coal energy to produce electricity. Its advantages and disadvantages are the following: Advantages of using coal to produce electricity:

Coal energy is an affordable energy source because of the coals stable price compared to other fuel sources Coal is easy to burn Coal produces high energy upon combustion Coal energy is inexpensive Coal is abundant Coal energy is a reliable energy source

The disadvantages of coal power are; 1. It is non-renewable and it is causing global warming. 2. Although it is now cheap, if the coal continues to be used in such a way, it will soon be very expensive. 3. Burning a fossil fuel produces carbon dioxide, which contributes to the greenhouse effect, warming the Earth. 4. Burning coal produces more carbon dioxide than burning oil or gas. 5. Mining coal can be difficult and dangerous. Strip mining destroys large areas of the landscape. 6. Coal-fired power stations need huge amounts of fuel, which means train-loads of coal almost constantly. In order to cope with changing demands for power, the station needs reserves. This means covering a large area of countryside next to the power station with piles of coal, which destroys plants and ruins landscapes.

Disadvantages of Coal-Fired Power Plants

On the other hand, there are also some significant disadvantages of coal fired plants including Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions, mining destruction, generation of millions of tons of waste, and emission of harmful substances. Greenhouse gas emissions. It cannot be denied that coal leaves behind harmful byproducts upon combustion. These byproducts cause a lot of pollution and contribute to global warming. The increased carbon emissions brought about by coal fired plants has led to further global warming which results in climate changes. Mining destruction. Mining of coal not only results in the destruction of habitat and scenery, but it also displaces humans as well. In many countries where coal is actively mined, many people are displaced in huge numbers due to the pitting of the earth brought about by underground mining. Places near coal mines are unsafe for human habitation as the land could cave in at anytime. Generation of millions of tons of waste. Millions of tons of waste products which can no longer be reused are generated from coal fired plants. Aside from the fact that these waste products contribute to waste disposal problems, these also contain harmful substances. Emission of harmful substances. Thermal plants like coal fired plants emit harmful substances to the environment. These include mercury, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, mercury, selenium, and arsenic. These harmful substances not only cause acid rain but also are very harmful to humans as well.

Environmental Impacts of Coal

The environmental impacts of coal include land use, such as the land used to mine coal, and water and air pollution caused by the process of coal mining and the use of its products. The burning of coal creates tons of waste products yearly such as fly ash and bottom ash and flue-gas desulfurization sludge. This sludge contains mercury, uranium, arsenic and other heavy metals. Hundreds of respiratory health problems have been recorded, all caused by the pollution being created by the burning of coal. In many parts of the world, especially China, air quality has steadily declined. Coal plants (where the coal is burned) give off carbon dioxide emissions, which is one of the main causes of global warming. The burning of coal is also a leading cause of smog (polluted air with a foggy appearance), acid rain (acidic rainfall which is created by atmospheric pollution) and toxic air pollution.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Coal as a Energy Source

Advantages:

- It's easily transported to many areas in the world

- Inexpensive to buy on open market due to large reserves and easy access ability

- Coal is the least expensive fossil fuel because it is rather simple to mine

- Coal powered generation scales well, which makes it possible to build a variety of sizes of generation plants

-Since coal is a fossil fuel, it can be used to build power stations almost anywhere as long as there are large amounts of it

Disadvantages:

- Coal must be mined and and strip mining ruins habitats

- Underground coal mining is dangerous because cave-ins and explosions are common which in turn, costs many miners their lives

- Non-renewable and fast depleting

- Leaves behind harmful remains which harm the environment upon combustion

- Mining of coal creates unstoppable damage to the environment

- Coal will eventually run out

Nonrenewable Fuel

The coal being mined today is about 300 million years old. Ancient vegetation, compressed under geological formations, produces coal much more slowly than the rate at which power plants consume it. Electric utilities can continue to use coal until a couple decades after the next century begins, depending on economic growth, energy conservation and other factors. After that point, the coal will be gone.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Electric power plants burn coal to boil water; the steam it produces drives giant electric generators. For the same amounts of energy, burning coal creates more carbon dioxide than other fossil fuels, such as natural gas. Climate scientists currently believe that excessive carbon dioxide put in the air since the beginning of the industrial revolution puts the Earth's climate at risk; solar energy trapped by greenhouse gases is slowly warming the world's atmosphere.
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Radioactive Emissions

Mined coal is not simply carbon; it contains traces of other naturally occurring elements including thorium, uranium and radon. Burning coal concentrates these substances in the fly ash that escapes from the power plant's smokestack. While the amounts of radioactivity are too small for scientists to consider it a health threat, coal plants put measurably more radiation into their local communities than nuclear plants do.

Toxic Ash Spills

The ash leftover from coal burning contains toxic materials such as mercury, chromium and arsenic. The electric utility treats the ash as toxic waste, mixing it with water and accumulating it in enormous retention ponds. In 2008, a retention pond in Tennessee ruptured, releasing an estimated 5.4 million cubic yards of slurry into the surrounding countryside, contaminating rivers and land.

The most abundant fossil fuel in the United States, coal fuels nearly half of the power plants in the country. And, in many countries, coal is still the primary source of fuel. However, with the threat of global warming, many people worry about the negative effects of burning coal for energy. In fact, there are numerous advantages and disadvantages of using coal as an energy source.

Availability

Coal is the world's largest source of energy for a reason: it is readily available. North America alone contains 272,569 million short tons of coal reserves, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Nonrenewable Resource

Coal, like all fossil fuels, is a nonrenewable resource. What we know as coal, today, started out as dead plant matter, and took millions of years to compress into its current form. We can eventually use up all of the coal reserves, and it would take millions of years to make more.
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Clean Coal

Much of the coal used for energy today, especially in the United States, is cleaned of impurities after it is mined, reducing some sulfur and nitrogen oxide emissions. In addition, many power plants employ mechanical "scrubbers" that partially desulfurize the gas, prior to release into the environment. However, neither of these techniques fully, or even mostly, eliminate harmful coal emissions.

Emissions

When coal is burned, it does release several harmful emissions, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, mercury and particulates. These chemicals in the air variously contribute to acid rain, the greenhouse effect, respiratory problems in humans and, in the case of mercury poisoning, neurological damage.

Cost

Coal is the world's cheapest source of energy, and has been for quite a while. As of 2010, coal in the United States, on average, costs only $32 per short ton, compared to $3 for only a gallon of gasoline. In addition, as of 2010, it costs only $2.27 to generate 1 million Btu of energy by burning coal, compared to $13.39 by burning petroleum liquids and $4.78 by burning natural gas.

Mining Damage

The actual process of mining coal, especially surface mining, often causes significant damage to the environment. In addition to the damage done to the landscape---clearing away trees and tearing up the ground---surface mining has been known to contaminate streams, even entire watersheds. Also, coal mining has long been linked to hypertension, kidney disease and, most notably, respiratory illnesses--like black lung disease and

emphysema--not only among miners, but also among those who simply live near mining operations.

Coal is often touted as an alternative energy source that could reduce the dependence of the U.S. on foreign oil. It is not uncommon to see commercials sponsored by the coal industry praising coal as an economic and clean energy source. The fact is that using coal to generate electricity is not a clean source of energy and comes at a very high cost, which is not always evident if only electricity bills are looked at when calculating costs.

Pollution

The use of coal as an energy source has been cited as one of the biggest contributors to global warming. As coal is burned to generate electricity, it releases billions of tons of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane into the air. Some of the other chemicals released by coal combustion have produced acid rains that have denuded forests and other plant life in some locations. In other areas, plant life has become more susceptible to disease and attack by insects because acid rain has left them in a weakened state. Acid rain is also increasing the acidity of streams and lakes and affecting the survival rates of fish and other aquatic life.

Other Environmental Effects

Up to 60 percent of coal is mined using aboveground strip mining, scarring the land horribly in the process. It pollutes rivers and streams near mining sites. It destroys animal and plant habitats. Underground mining can cause large areas of collapsed surface land, and can cause underground coal fires that can last for hundreds of years. These fires and land subsidence destroy animal and plant life due to heat, pollution and land loss. Human populations have had to be relocated due to land collapses and underground coal fires. New Electronics Datasheet Site 65 Million Parts, Free PDF Download www.datasheets360.com

Health Effects

The combustion of coal generates byproducts that can have harmful health effects. These byproducts include particulates, hydrocarbons, ozone, toxic metals, sulphur dioxides, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds. Just a few of the health effects of these byproducts are respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, emphysema and pulmonary edema. They also cause weakening of heart contractions, reduced oxygen supply, vision problems, chest pain, high blood pressure, damage to the immune system, cancer, behavioral disorders and neurological disorders such as seizures and mental retardation.

Health Effects to Miners

Coal miners work in dangerous, dirty conditions. In addition to the health issues arising from the pollutants and byproducts that everyone faces, coal miners often suffer from a disease called black lung disease. While not fatal on its own, miners who have the disease have much higher rates than the non-mining population of contracting emphysema and other lung diseases like silicosis and pneumoconiosis, which are all lung diseases that result from exposure to dust.

Non-Renewable Resource

Coal is not available in unlimited supply. It is a non-renewable resource. If the U.S. is to have reliable and meaningful energy security, it has to develop a renewable alternative to fossil fuels such as coal.

In 2005, coal produced 49.7 percent of the electricity supply in the United States, according to the Energy Literacy website. Many countries use coal for many of its energy needs. Coal offers distinct advantages and disadvantages as a power source going into the future.

Advantage: Abundance

Compared to oil and gas, coal is the most abundant of the fossil fuels. According to Planete Engeries, the world reserves will last at least 200 years at current rates of use. The United States, which is that largest energy-consuming country in the world, also has the largest coal reserves of any other nation.

Advantage: Infrastructure and Technology

Coal has been used as an energy source for a long time. The systems used to transport coal from mine to power plant are well established. Coal is delivered to power plants primarily by the train load. Coal is also relatively easy to mine for compared to other fossil fuels such as oil and gas. According to Energy Literacy, half of the current reserves in the United States are mineable using current technologies. New Electronics Datasheet Site 65 Million Parts, Free PDF Download www.datasheets360.com

Advantage: Cheap

Coal is also the cheapest fossil fuel option because of its abundance and ease of mining. Many countries are turning to coal as a means of producing electricity because of the increase in costs for oil and gas.

Disadvantage: Carbon Dioxide

The major disadvantage of burning all fossil fuels is the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Increased carbon dioxide levels have been liked to climate change. Coal also releases the largest amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere compared to either oil or gas.

Disadvantage: Sulfur Dioxide

Another byproduct of burning coal as an energy source is the release of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. Sulfur dioxide converts to sulfuric acid through oxidation and becomes a component of acid rain.

Disadvantage: Amounts Needed

Power plants that burn coal to produce electricity are run 24 hours a day and need to burn large amounts of coal to keep production up. This means that shipments of coal are delivered regularly and stored on site. Large piles of coal are stored at the power plant and take up large swaths of land around the plant.

Disadvantage: Non-renewable

While coal is the most plentiful of the fossil fuels, it is a finite resource. Once the reserves on Earth are used up, no more can be created. While it is widely estimated 200 years worth of reserves remain at current use, Energy Literacy estimates the consumption of coal will increase 71 percent between 2004 and 2030.

Coal is formed by geological forces acting on dead plant material through intense forces of pressure and heat over millions of years. Coal has been used as a major energy source since the mid-1700s with the advent of the Industrial Revolution. It is the main fuel source in the United States for generating electricity, which is done by burning coal to power steam-generated electrical turbines. Coal is also part of the process for refining iron into steel. Coal's disadvantages as a fuel lie chiefly in polluting byproducts and the environmental costs associated with mining it.

Energy Efficiency

As a fuel, coal is cost-effective because it does not need to be refined as much as other fossil fuels; most forms of coal can be burned directly for energy. Because of the high carbon content of coal, combustion is efficient for generating heat that is used for steam-generated electrical turbines.

Ready Supply

Recoverable coal supplies will last for approximately 200 to 300 years; this ensures a longterm energy source for industrial applications and electricity generation. Coal deposits are also uniformly located across the world, which eases problems of supply from the sources of the coal to the locations where it will be burned.
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Extraction and Use

Because of its accessibility, coal deposits can utilize existing land transportation to where they are used. Additionally, refining coal for use as a fuel is less costly as compared to petroleum. Electricity-generating plants powered by coal have low operating costs compared to plants that utilize other fuel sources.

Greenhouse Gasses

One of the main disadvantages to coal as a fuel are the greenhouse gasses released during its combustion. Burning coal generates carbon dioxide, which contributes to the greenhouse gas emissions impacting on the climate. Although emissions from coal plants can be refined to reduce emissions such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, no method currently exists to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from coal.

Acid Rain

Coal combustion also releases sulphur dioxide. Once in the atmosphere, sulphur dioxide reacts with oxygen to become sulphuric acid. Ecological damage is sustained when sulphuric acid is released into the environment as "acid rain," a combination of acid and rainwater. Acid rain damages forests, and runoff pollutes water supplies.

Mining Risks

Coal mines present risks to miners because mining is intrinsically dangerous, as well as presenting health risks to miners posed by coal dust and gasses. Also, mines cause damage to the surrounding environment because of the geological dislocation required to extract coal.

Disadvantages of Coal :(
Posted on April 9, 2013 by Farazzy

Disadvantages of using coal to produce electricity:

Burning coal emits harmful waste such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphuric acids, arsenic and ash. It also emits twice as much carbon dioxide when compared with natural gas to produce the same level of heat, which increased the levels of harmful greenhouse gases emitted into the earths atmosphere. Carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels now account for about 65 per cent of the extra carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. This eventually leads to global warming and climate change

The burning of coal by large-scale factories to power industry has led to acid rain in some regions Coal energy is nonrenewable energy source Coal is fast depleting because we consume too much of it Coal mining ruins the environment and puts the lives of people specially the coal miners in danger

We cannot deny the fact that using coal energy is very important to us. All of us want an affordable and reliable energy source which we can only get by using coal energy. Although using coal energy is very significant for us and living without it would become impossible, we should always open our minds to the damage the continuous use of coal energy will eventually bring to us and to our environment.

However, the primary reason why coal is not very sustainable for the environment is because it causes climate change. It pollutes our world. A better alternative to using coal-fired energy is to switch to more renewable energy sources which usually tend to be more environmentally friendly.

Impact of coal on climate change The US, China and India are the worlds top producers and consumers of coal, according to available information. Coal supplies 26.6 percent of energy worldwide, and its use is reported to be responsible for 43.1 percent of global CO2 emissions. CO2 or carbon dioxide emissions are responsible for climate change. Meanwhile, it has been noted that Ghanas economy is heavily dependent on climate sensitive sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, tourism and the forest sector. A Ghana News Agency report citing Dr Seth Osafo, an International Climate Change Expert, says based on a 20-year baseline Climate Change Observation, it is projected that yields of maize and other cereal crops would reduce by seven per cent by 2050 while in 2020, Ghanas coast lines would have reduced by 465m of seaside land to erosion, resulting in a loss of 1,110sq.km of land placing about 132,200 people at risk. A study by the University of California, Berkeley says, Rainfall in the Sahel has dropped 20-30 percent in the 20th century, the worlds most severe long-term drought since measurements from rainfall gauges began in the mid-1800s. There is also the phenomenon of desertification, a feature of climate change, which is having devastating effects on African economies, including Ghana. The northern part of Ghana which is also the poorest is the hardest hit. The northern parts of the country, comprising the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions, together constitute more than 30 percent of the total land area of the country. For instance, statistics released in 2007 by Ghanas Environment Protection Agency (EPA) showed that 49 out of the 138 districts in Ghana were currently in the desert belt. The country is losing about 20,000 hectares of land annually to desertification which is further deepening degradation of farmlands and livelihoods. According to the World Bank, Ghana has experienced an annual productivity loss of 2.9 percent in all crops and livestock due to erosion and nutrient depletion. This translates into approximately two to five percent of agricultural GDP. A Deputy Northern Regional Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture has been cited by the GNA to have said that over 1.2 million Ghanaians, representing five per cent of the population, are food insecure. The World Bank has double standards on coal? It is not clear where the World Bank stands on the issue of coal-fired power plants. A Reuters report in April 2010 cited the World Bank, as approving a controversial $3.75 billion loan to develop a coal-fired power plant in South Africa despite the lack of support from the United States, Netherlands and Britain. The countries, all major donors to the World Bank, said they abstained from supporting the loan for South African state power utility Eskom due to environmental and other concerns, it said. But the Bank opposes Ghanas decision to build a coal-fired plant. The Energy Specialist at the Ghana Office of the World Bank had said on a radio station, Citi FM in Accra that the Bank will not support the assertion that coal is a very attractive option for Ghana. He was quoted as saying, It can be a very competitive fuel. A lot of times, these are in countries with a lot of national coal resources (it makes it easier). But even in imported cases, for example China where they import a lot of coal, they are starting to see the environmental price that they pay for burning so much coal and are moving towards a more lower-carbon solution, he added. I take the view that it is not a very good option for Ghana. Theres no domestic resource, but there is domestic gas resources. So why wouldnt you start with the resources that is closer to home and with a lower carbon? He told the radio station. Leadership The recent World Bank report on Ghanas energy situation minced no words in putting the blame for Ghanas current power crisis on leadership. In the foreword to the report which was prepared during a period of electricity shortages and rolling power blackouts, Yusupha Crookes, Ghana Country Director of the World Bank noted that the current power

shortfall is particularly serious for two reasons: the frequency of these episodes is increasing the previous one was just five years ago and the economic damage inflicted is greater, because Ghanas economy has evolved to become ever more dependent on reliable electricity supply, he said. The Bank published the report in the belief that it will help bring about policies and decisions that will ensure that Ghanas emergence as a middle-income economy is not held back by the energy sector, as at present. We recommend that government makes a concerted effort to think big and provide more direct and proactive leadership to the energy sector, given its centrality to boosting economic growth, Crookes said. The Bank noted that solutions to these problems are well known; the challenge is to carry them out. Proactive leadership of the energy sector, with a focus on efficiency and timely delivery, is crucial to Ghanas ambitions for economic growth. But obviously, it looks like the government believes that some of the solution lies in coal-fired electricity plants, even though the coal is expected to be imported from South Africa.

The recent energy crisis in Ghana has highlighted the urgent need for increasing our energy production. As a consequence, the governments effort at increasing currently installed generation capacity from about 2,500 MW to 5,000 MW by 2016 is a laudable vision. Sonon-Asoglis alternative proposal of adding 700 MW coal-fired power plant in realizing this prescribed energy target is also intuitively appealing, in light of the fact that coal is the cheapest energy source of choice, worldwide. We must, however, take a minute to ponder this proposal, in order to assess, if indeed, this is the direction that we want to take in addressing our energy shortfall. In fairness, I must first concede that there are huge economic benefits of coal as a cheap source of energy, specifically, concerning its economic and employment benefits, spanning from its mining through processing, transportation, and up to the end-use. These benefits are particularly maximized in the event that coal happens to be an indigenous resource of the user country. It is, therefore, not a coincidence that most of the big coal user countries also double as coal producing countries. The United States, for instance, possesses a quarter of the recoverable coal reserves in the world. By that endowment, coal naturally accounts for 37.4 % of the US energy production. However, in spite of all the economic benefits of coal, the US Energy Administration reported in 2012 that coal production in the US was falling at an annual rate of 7%, with most of the coal power plants being converted to natural gas. Actually, the number of plants is currently down from 633 coke plants in 2002 to 589 plants in 2011. By the same token, Germany is also investing in cleaner energy sources, even though Germany also has substantial recoverable coal reserves. Notwithstanding the economic benefits of coal, there are also numerous inherent environmental impacts. More precisely, large quantities of water are required for purifying the coal, for generating steam for production, and finally for cooling. These enormous quantities of highly contaminated water will eventually need to be discharged somewhere. In addition, coal has 10 % ash content. It is, therefore, reasonable to estimate that burning 20 million tons of coal per year, as proposed by Sonon-Asogli, will generate 2 million tons of ash every year. In fact, Accra is currently finding it difficult in managing the disposal of solid waste generated from the city. However, in the event of having this proposed coal-fired plant running, Accra will now be burdened with an additional 2 million tons of highly polluted solid waste. It must be emphasized, here, that the entire country generates 3 million tons of solid waste annually. What is more, our air will also not be spared in this impending pollution saga. Indeed, the US has some of the most efficient coke plants in the world. They have also invested substantially in carbon capture and sequestration projects, in order to efficiently manage carbon emissions, in the future. The US EPA, however, reports that the average emission rates of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide from their efficient coal-fired generation are 2,249 lbs/MWh, 13 lbs/MWh, and 6 lbs/MWh, respectively. In contrast, the corresponding emission rates from natural gas powered plants are 1,135 lbs/MWh, 0.1 lbs/MWh, and 1.7 lbs/MWh, respectively. These statistics, in my opinion, should be a motivation for Ghana to be thankful for her recent oil and gas discoveries. In fact, the United States and the World Bank are proposing to limit lending for coal projects in developing countries, due to these aforementioned prohibitive environmental drawbacks. Honestly, we are fortunate, as a country, to have discovered oil and natural gas in these challenging times in our history. Accordingly, Ghanas primary focus, at this specific moment, should be on developing her indigenous natural gas industry, for the purpose of fueling her next generation of power plants. This development will, in addition, create employment for the youth, stretching from the downstream end of the gas production industry, up to the end-use. It is conceivable that Sonon-Asogli will want to diversify into coal-fired plants, against the backdrop of the unreliable supply of natural gas from the West African Gas Pipeline Authority. Nevertheless, it will be in the mutual interest of both Sonon-Asogli and Ghana, if Sonon-Asogli will reconsider investing rather in Ghanas natural gas production, in an effort to securing a constant supply of the commodity to power its production plants, instead of importing coal from South Africa to be burnt in Ghana. I remark in conclusion, that it is not my intention to discount this commendable effort by Sonon-Asogli in augmenting governments vision of resolving the countrys energy deficit. Indeed, Ghana needs private companies like Sonon-Asogli in the power sector. However, it is intuitively obvious, in the long run, that the optimal source of energy that Ghana needs urgent assistance in developing is natural gas, which is cleaner and available locally.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using coal to generate electricity?
Answer:
Coal is a fossil fuel like oil and gas. Fossil fuels are all formed out of organic matter deposited, decomposed and compressed, storing all the carbon involved under the earth's surface for millions of years. Some advantages of coal are

Easily combustible, and burns at low temperatures, making coal-fired boilers cheaper and simpler than many others Widely and easily distributed all over the world; Comparatively inexpensive to buy on the open market due to large reserves and easy accessibility Good availability for much of the world (i.e. coal is found many more places than other fossil fuels) Most coal is rather simple to mine, making it by far the least expensive fossil fuel to actually obtain Coal-powered generation scales well, making it economically possible to build a wide variety of sizes of generation plants. A fossil-fuelled power station can be built almost anywhere, so long as you can get large quantities of fuel to it. Most coal fired power stations have dedicated rail links to supply the coal.

However, the important issue as of now is whether there are more advantages than disadvantages of fossil fuels like coal! Some disadvantages of coal are:

it is Non-renewable and fast depleting; Coal has the lowest energy density of any fossil fuel - that is, it produces the least energy per ton of fuel It also has the lowest energy density per unit volume, meaning that the amount of energy generated per cubic meter is lower than any other fossil fuel high coal transportation costs due to the bulk of coal (as a result of the preceding two low energy density problems), especially for countries with no coal resources and hence will require special harbours for coal import and storage.

Coal dust is an extreme explosion hazzard, so transportation and storage must take special precautions to mitigate this danger Coal storage cost is high especially if required to have enough stock for few years to assure power production availability. burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, a powerful greenhouse gas, that had been stored in the earth for millions of years, contributing to global warming.

it leaves behind harmful by-products upon combustion (both airborne and in solid-waste form), thereby causing a lot of pollution. In particular, air polution due to burning coal is much worse than any other form of power generation, and very expensive "scrubbers" must be installed to remove a significant amount of it; even then, a non-trivial amount escapes into the air.

mining of coal leads to irreversible damage to the adjoining environment; It will eventually run out. It cannot be recycled. Prices for all fossil fuels are rising, especially if the real cost of their carbon is included.

Environmental Impact of Coal: An average of 170 pounds of mercury is made by one coal plant every year. When 1/70 of a teaspoon of mercury is put in to a 50-acre lake it can make the fish unsafe to eat. Coal power puts the lives of the people who dig the coal in danger, and it gives them poor lung quality. Also, it ruins the natural habitats of animals. See link below. A coal plant generates about 3,700,000 tons of carbon dioxide every year; this is one of the main causes of global warming. A single coal plant creates 10,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, which causes acid rain that damages forests, lakes, and buildings. When people dig for coal, they cut down many trees. A coal plant also creates 720 tons of carbon monoxide; which causes headaches and place additional stress on people with heart disease. See link below. A 500-megawatt coal- fired plant draws about 2.2 billion gallons of water from near by bodies of water. This is enough water to support approximately 250,000 people. Some people have said that coal power is good, because coal power is reliable and affordable. It may be reliable and affordable, but in the future the damage that coal power would cause, would be much more expressive. see link below. Coal slurry (a mix of rock and coal products left over after the mined coal has been treated for use as a fuel) is a severe environmental problem around coal mines. The slurry itself is a semi-liquid, and is generally stored in a pond or small lake near the mine exit. The slurry contains a whole host of nasty chemicals, mostly benzene relatives and derivatives, and is categorized as low-level toxic waste. Storing is a significant problem, as it has a tendency to leech into the local environment, contaminating groundwater and nearby croplands. The major problem is that the volume of coal slurry is quite high, relative to the amount of usable coal produced.

The Disadvantages of Coal

Burning coal emits harmful waste such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphuric acids, arsenic and ash. It also emits twice as much carbon dioxide when compared with natural gas to produce the same level of heat, which increased the levels of harmful greenhouse gases emitted into the earths atmosphere. Carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels now account for about 65 per cent of the extra carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. The burning of coal by large-scale factories to power industry has led to acid rain in some regions Coal can be cleaned and/or turned into a liquid of gas but this technology has yet to be fully developed and adds to the expense of creating fuel via coal Coal mining can scar the landscape and the equipment used for mining is large and noisy which may affect local wildlife Transporting coal can be problematic because it requires an extensive transportation system and can also cause additional pollution in the form of emissions from transportation vehicles such as lorries, etc There are limited stocks of coal remaining they will be entirely depleted this millennium if we continue to burn coal in the future at the same rate we are today coal can be considered as a nonrenewable energy source The mining industry can cause health difficulties for miners and fatalities due to the potentially dangerous nature of the work

disadvantages1. it is non-renewable resource 2. it emits harmful gases which cause both pollution and global warming 3.it is a bad conductor of heat and electricity 4. one of the gas emmited which is carbon monooxide his highly poisonous and even 1% of it consumed can cause cause death 5.it takes thousands of years to form 6. it cannot be recycled coal is a non-renewable resource. it is formed by the gradual decomposition ofvegetable matter in the absence of air under great pressure.this is a slow process of decomposition of vegetable matter. so it takes millions of years to form. coal is not evenly distributed throughout the world and it is not available in abundance. probably coal resources are depleting at an alarming rate. if its exploitation continues at the same rate as currently, then all the ccoal resources will get exhausted in next 2 or 3 decades

Disadvantages Coal is a nonrenewable source of energy. It took millions of years to form, and a finite amount of it exists on our planet. Although it is a consistent and reliable source of energy at this point in time, it will not be available forever. Mining is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. The health hazards to underground miners include respiratory illnesses, such as black lung, in which coal dust builds up in the lungs. In additi on to disease, thousands of miners die every year in mine explosions, collapses, and other accidents. Burning coal for energy releases toxins and greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide. These have an immediate impact on the local air quality, and contribute to global warming, the current period of climate change.

Surface mining permanently alters the landscape. In mountaintop removal, the landscape itself is obliterated and ecosystems are destroyed. This increases erosion in the area. Floods and other natural hazards put these areas at great risk. Coal mining can impact local water supplies in several ways. Streams may be blocked, increasing the chances for flooding. Toxins often leach into groundwater, streams, and aquifers. Coal is one of the most controversial energy sources in the world. The advantages of coal mining are economically and socially significant. However, mining devastates the environment: air, land, and water.